Thomas Gainsborough painted two versions of "The Harvest Wagon" in 1767 and 1784. The painting depicts peasants in a wagon traveling through a rural landscape and perfectly blends realism with an idealized setting. Gainsborough was self-taught and studied the techniques of past masters like Rubens. After creating the work, it was given to a friend and over the decades changed private hands several times before being donated to its current home at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

1. Thomas Gainsborough “ The Harvest Wagon” (1767,1784)